Founder of online store, Deeski.com, Jumoke Akinsanya, has lauded the human capital development initiative of e-commerce market leader Jumia, saying the company trained her on the rudiments of online sales which has helped grow her business ever since.
“Jumia has taught me how to understand consumer behavior in e-commerce; how to process orders and how to create products on the e-commerce platform,” Akinsanya said.
A report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with Jumia, had said Africa’s e-commerce market could grow by more than $14.5 billion between 2025-2030, partly by increasing the number of women selling on online platforms and providing them with better training and financial support to help them match sales made by men.
According to Akinsanya, the continent market leader has been providing financial support to sellers on its platform through a lending programme. The seller said “through the Jumia lending program, the company has helped grow the business bigger than when we started with them. We started with two staff and a smaller warehouse. Now we have a bigger warehouse and fourteen staff.”
She further stated that joining the e-commerce train has eliminated some gender problems faced while running a brick and mortar store. “One of the challenges I have as a woman is most times when I try to acquire brands, and I speak with them on the phone, they feel more comfortable. But by the time we are trying to have a physical meeting with them and they realise that the person that spoke with them the other time is the owner of the business, few of them get onboard immediately, while some of them decide to step out, probably take some time before they approve the business.
However, with e-commerce, I have been able to overcome this fear because I don’t need to face brands or anybody. So e-commerce has helped women to keep their face behind their business and anybody is ready to deal with a business that is growing,” she explained.
